Needle with a thread

Steel, colour fiberglass.

Piazza Cadorna, Milan, Italy.

This unusual sculpture by Claes Oldenburg greets visitors at the Milan railway station. It is a huge needle with coloured thread – its tip is half stuck into the ground, and the second part with a bundle sticks out of the ground on the other side of the square. This composition was not chosen by chance since the city is a well-known fashion center, where sewing factories and workshops of famous designers work. In addition to the aesthetic component, the sculpture performs a practical function. The colours of the thread are the colours of the Milan metro, and thanks to this 18-meter “pointer” it is easy to find the local subway station.